NATIONAL TRAIL CONFERENCE

Projected Order of Finish 1. St. Anthony 2. Teutopolis 3. Stew-Stras 4. Altamont 5. Neoga 6. Beecher City 7. Dieterich 8. Brownstown 9. Windsor 10. St. Elmo 11. Cowden-Herrick

BY JACK BULLOCK Last season the conference regular season title went to Teutopolis. Effingham St Anthony won the conference tournament championship. Who would have guessed that? Nearly everyone. It is a skipping, snap, crackle and pop, warped phonograph at 78, 45 or 33 1/3 speeds. T-Town and St. A have been 1 or 1A since the NTC Stone Age. These two basketball programs have combined to win nearly 2,800-varsity boy’s basketball games. Year after year it is the Dawgs and Shoes dancing in the final game of the tournament or waltzing to the league title. Usually spoiling the other one’s party along the way. There have been a few rare occasions in which someone else crashes the festivities but mostly the final standings or final game of the tournament has someone wearing Navy and Gold or Red, White and Blue. In 2009-10 this will be the case, again. In St. Anthony’s situation – look for head coach Matt Britton to be smiling a lot this season as he returns a great deal of kids that know how to play the game right. On the flip side Teutopolis also has a lot coming back. There are some other good teams loaming in the National Trail Conference – a league that now sports 11-teams instead of its long standing 10-count. Dieterich was accepted two seasons ago and after a year on the Indy circuit the Maroons have moved into its new home with a full schedule of contests. If you are looking for the contenders to try and unseat the top two in this league – both Stewardson-Strasburg and Altamont have some kids back that should put each of those teams in position for a run. Neoga is perhaps the best-coached club in this league and they will have some good players ready to have a go at the top two. In fact the Indians ambushed St. Anthony last season in handing the Bulldogs a second NTC loss that "gift-wrapped" the title to league unbeaten Teutopolis. Windsor looks to be the most improved of the bottom of the standings while St. Elmo – coming off of a tough season – has everyone returning who survived the campaign. Dieterich arrives into the conference after ditching the Midland Trail Conference two years ago. The Maroons should fit in here. Coach Terry Pruemer’s NTC Magical Mystery Tour has landed in Brownstown and this popular coach will lead an experienced Bombers’ squadron in 2009-10. Beecher City has head coach Rick Cook who – like Pruemer – has had a few stops in the National Trail over the years. Cowden-Herrick has seven seniors back according to second year leader Brett Boehm. You can read more about C-H, BC, Brownstown and St. Elmo in the expanded Egyptian Illini Conference preview on this site. Look for St. Anthony and Teutopolis to hook up on February 9th with the winner likely to capture the regular season title. January 30th will more than likely be the first round between the two teams in the finale of the NTC Tournament at Altamont. In either case – ABV projects this conference to once again be the Two Big Chiefs and the Nine Little Indians. 1. ST. ANTHONY Head coach Matt Britton is sitting on a powder keg of offensive explosives as he enters his third year running the Bulldog kennel. Other than losing four-year varsity player John Steppe – nearly everyone returns from a club that posted a 23-5 overall record and a 7-2 NTC mark. They split two games with Teutopolis during the regular season and NTC tourney before falling to the Wooden Shoes, 61-52 in the first round of the St. Anthony 2A Regional. Coach Britton has his leading scorer back from last season plus several seasoned veterans ready to improve on last season’s disappointing finish. Only teams with lofty expectations ever experience disappointing finishes and this program always has the bar set high. Taylor Worman – a 6-foot-5 senior forward and ABV Special Mention 2A pick from a season ago – is back after topping St. A with a 16.5 p.p.g. average. Worman shot the ball really well everywhere on the floor as his 45.3 percent from the field and 83 percent from the foul line were exceptional marks. Worman also yanked down 4.3 rebounds a game to top a balanced lineup. Another inside player for the Bulldogs is 6-foot-6 Myles Baker – who grew four inches since his junior season (according to last year’s roster) and will be one of the better forwards in the area this year. He averaged 9.6 points a game last season while ripping down 6.5 rebounds. Six-foot-three senior forward Derek Rohlfing added 4.1 p.p.g. and 3.6 r.p.g. James Jansen – a 5-foot-9 junior guard – made his mark on the 2008-09 season by coming up big in the NTC Tournament final in leading a fourth quarter comeback to topple T-Town. Jansen put up solid numbers with 7.5 points to go with 3.9 assists per game. Kit Koerner is a 6-foot-2 junior guard (4.3 p.p.g.) who played quite a bit as a sophomore in all 28-games. Inside is where you will find Paul Sudkamp when he is on the floor for the Bulldogs as this 6-foot-4 senior forward averaged 2.7 points last season to go with 2.8 rebounds. Six-foot senior guard Marty Jansen, 6-foot-6 senior forward Alex Lustig, 6-foot-6 junior forward Ryan Schmitt and 6-foot-1 sophomore Reed Wittenborg are all capable of starting games or helping off the pine. Anyway that Coach Britton wants to go with this group in putting together starters and reserves should work well. The Bulldogs have size, quickness and a deep enough bench to strike some fear in 2009-10. ”We return nine of our top ten players from last season. We have 50 points and 25 rebounds a game on average coming back from last season,” said Coach Britton – who is 121-53 overall in his coaching career. “We are expecting a great season and our schedule will once again provide many challenges.” OUTLOOK – St. Anthony should have many goals this season – all of which will be attainable including one that mentions the town Peoria. This team has all of the right stuff to make it to the 2A Final Four. Worman will go over 1,000-points for the season and this might be this programs’ best shot at bring home an elusive state tournament trophy. Did ABV say powder keg earlier? This team should be able to score a lot of points if this coach turns them loose and their defense will always be good. If the teams can take care of business in the St. Anthony Thanksgiving event – the Bulldogs and Breese Central could meet on Saturday night in the title game. This would be a preview of a potential game at Carver Arena in March. The Dawgs are the NTC Chalk. 2. TEUTOPOLIS For anyone who thought that with the departure of head coach Ken Crawford two seasons ago that somehow the program at Teutopolis would just fall apart – those folks were way off base. Coach Andy Fehrenbacher put his own stamp on last season’s team and this program continued its dominance overall. Another 20-wins for the ‘Shoes and another season of bringing home trophies - par for the course in this part of Effingham County. T-Town won yet another regular season NTC crown and put a scare into Marshall before falling to the Lions, 55-49, in the St. Anthony 2A Regional title game. Those Lions went on to finish third in the state last March and the Wooden Shoes know that they were very close to yet another trip to the state finals in boy’s hoops. Teutopolis all but won the program’s 20th regional championship and – like St. Anthony – a regional plaque is one of the goals that will continue to be aimed for. Coach Fehrenbacher (41-15 in two seasons at T-Town) has etched his own style coaching on to this program with the same tough work ethic all of his predecessors had during this programs long run of success. The 2009-10 edition of Teutopolis hoopla will feature some of the same last names that have graced the pages of the T-Town chronicles as this group will look to improve on last season’s 24-4 overall slate that underscored another unbeaten (9-0) National Trail romp. Six-foot-two senior Jeremy Niebrugge (that last name keeps popping up each year) is back after starting for Teutopolis last season as a junior. Niebrugge scored 6.3 p.p.g. while dishing out 2.5 a.p.g. - good numbers that should increase this winter. Another top scoring threat back for Coach Fehrenbacher is 6-foot-4 senior Brock Sandschafer who should definitely improve his offensive numbers from a year ago. But while their rivals to the west have nearly everyone back – Teutopolis lost five seniors to graduation and a lot of points down the drain that must be refreshed. Two of the seniors - Tony Zerrusen and Brian Haskenherm - were ABV 2A First Team picks and represented 25 points a game. Besides Sandschafer and Niebrugge – one senior and a pair of juniors should fill the starting spots although none of the three are very experienced. Six-foot-four senior Jordan Michels – 6-foot-5 junior Nick Schumacher and 6-foot-2 junior Derek Thompson should be given opportunity to win the starting assignments. However with most of the editions of T-Town basketball there will be competition in preseason drills to see who will end up in the lineup. “Our seniors are a group of smart kids with great work habits,” said Coach Fehrenbacher. “We will need them to step up and be leaders with their play and also vocally. We will once again have high expectations.” Top newcomers to the varsity are 6-foot senior Luke Bushur, 6-foot-6 senior Marshall Schultz, 6-foot-3 junior Trey Braun and 6-foot-4 Bo Blievernicht. All have size and ability according to this coach but they lack experience at this level. Look for all to get a look early in the season at the Capital Classic. “I’m very excited about the upcoming season. Even though we lost some quality kids to graduation – we still have a good nucleus returning that includes two starters and three other players that saw a lot of varsity time,” added Coach Fehrenbacher. “We will be long and athletic and also our bench should be deep with sophomores and juniors that have had success at all levels so far in their careers. We hope that will carry over into the varsity level.” OUTLOOK – This club will like the challenges that they will face this season – especially early in the season at the Capital Classic and later on in the season in non-conference and NTC play. The starters will have to score a bit more than they did last season but the reserve unit looks to be even better than last season. The experience edge in this league will go to St. Anthony but Teutopolis will have some intangibles going for them as well. That battle on the ninth will decide the conference title and a third game will likely happen in the postseason. 3. STEWARDSON-STRASBURG While teams like St. Anthony and Teutopolis have annual expectations in their respective programs – most of the rest of the NTC brotherhood are happy for a winning year. But at Stew-Stras this season the talent pool is still very high and with a pair of disappointing recent post-seasons to draw motivation from – these Comets should set their sights on a much bigger goal. Talent wise this club was good enough to make a longer journey from February to March in each of the last two seasons but failed to do so. ABV thinks the third time might truly become the charm. Head coach Mike Walker has some kids returning with enough size and athletic ability to not only make a sprint towards Peoria in Class 1A but to also give no quarter to the top two in this conference. Heading back to the court this season for Stew-Stras are five veterans who either started for the 16-12 team last season or came off the bench for many minutes. The Comets lost its second consecutive regional title game last February – this time to Neoga, 62-51, at the Cumberland 1A Regional. But plenty of talent is coming back for a chance at regional redemption. Back in the backcourt for Stewardson-Strasburg is a pair of 6-foot-1 senior guards. Jaden Widdersheim led the Comets in scoring last winter with 18.6 points a game while classmate and backcourt running mate Will Rincker averaged 12.1 p.p.g while tossing the ball around to the tune of 2.5 assists per night. Is there another 30-point backcourt returning anywhere else? I think not, at least not in this league. Having a veteran backcourt helps out everyone around – especially some talented players in the frontcourt. Six-foot-six senior Jon Hoene returns after averaging 5.7 points and 5.6 rebounds. The other two starters should be 6-foot-4 senior Chris Koontz (five points a game) and 6-foot-1 Steven Thomas who didn’t play as a junior but is back for his final prep year. Thomas didn’t play because of a baseball injury (broken jaw) but he is healthy now and Coach Walker believes he will help out immediately with his athleticism and knowledge of the game. Thomas is the son of former Sullivan girl’s head coach Scott Thomas who won a state title in 1991. Children of coaches tend to know a little bit about the game. Coach Walker is looking at some good young athletes to come off of the bench to help with some minutes. Six-foot junior guard Luke Rincker should see some action in the beginning of the season as will 6-foot junior guard Lucas Helton and 5-foot-10 junior Kyle Helmuth. Three sophomores could also end up with important roles on the varsity. Six-foot-four sophomore Matt Tabbert is the younger brother of Josh who was a starter on the Stew-Stras club last season. Nick Ferris is a 5-foot-10 sophomore guard and Zach Rincker is a 5-foot-9 sophomore guard. Both could be used in key situations. “We have a good group back with lots of experience and with the addition of Thomas back into the rotation we should have a pretty solid lineup,” said Coach Walker – who is 107-76 coaching at the high school level. “We’ll need some solid play from our juniors and sophomores for us to have success this season. We will play a lot of road games that will give us some toughness. If we can be good teammates and be unselfish, we’ll be able to compete with everyone on our schedule.” OUTLOOK – For the past two seasons something has always seemed to go wrong for this program. Call it what you will – the Comets failed to take their game to the next level. This edition has all the weapons to make it to Peoria. They might be even better now than they were the last two years. They have size and skill with kids that can score and defend. They should be a severe test to both St. Anthony and Teutopolis this season and will be one of the top Class 1A teams in the ABV Supersectional area. ABV hopes that these kids - and coaching staff - are ready for the long haul in 2009-10. 4. ALTAMONT Head coach Doug Hill and his Indians made a nice run last season and brought home the school’s third regional title since this coach arrived and the first since 2001-02. But Woodlawn ended the Indians’ season with a 61-51 loss at the Red Hill 1A Sectional that - in turn - finished the prep basketball careers of some outstanding players and kids. Altamont’s backcourt of Kiefer McCarron and Landon Duckwitz pulled off those uniforms for the final time after outstanding prep tenures. McCarron (14 p.p.g.) and Duckwitz (10.6 p.p.g., 4.9 a.p.g.) will be missed as leaders. Greg Sperry and Devin Frailey were also starters making a total of eight seniors that have left some craters of points and rebounds to fill as the Indians transform into a different team heading into 2009-10. Coach Hill does have some weapons returning and one important starter back in 6-foot-6 senior Brian Suckow. This forward averaged 12.3 points a game and was the second best in rebounding on the club with 5.5 boards per night. He runs the floor well and last winter he finished a lot of McCarron and Duckwitz assists. After Suckow there isn’t a lot of returning varsity minutes showing on the chart. Coach Hill has three other seniors that will get an opportunity at joining Suckow in the lineup. None of the three managed to average over one point a game in their limited varsity trips to the court. Tre Schlief is a 6-foot-1 forward/center that played sparingly last season as an understudy to Sperry. Six-foot-two senior Jaisun Berg was also a post player last season for Coach Hill with most of his time coming in the junior varsity. Those two – along with 6-foot-4 senior forward Hayden Winters and 5-foot-7 senior guard Chuck Spence – will need to do very well in the preseason practices to hold off some youngsters for those important spots. The junior group looks promising for Altamont with some good athletes ready to move up the roster. Jordan McGinnis is a 6-foot-3 junior forward who – along with 6-foot-3 junior forward Ryan Heiden – could push for starting jobs early in the season. Four other juniors could be part of the conundrum facing this coaching staff on who will get the varsity minutes. Jacob Jahraus – a 6-foot-1 junior forward – and 6-foot-1 junior Brock Ledbetter have potential to start the season on the varsity hardwood. Brandon Duckwitz – a 5-foot-9 junior guard – could end up being a point guard for this unit. That is if Michael Buzzard doesn’t win the job. Buzzard is a 5-foot-7 junior point guard listed by Coach Hill as possibly making the jump from full-time JV to varsity. In fact all of those juniors have a shot at grabbing varsity minutes. Coach Hill also mentioned 6-foot-3 junior Colin Miller as a possibly getting some varsity experience this season while also playing junior varsity. This coach believes that this club has a lot of potential after a solid summer of games. ”Physically I feel we are a stronger group then we have been in the past few years if not nearly as tall as we have been,” said Hill – who is 194-116 in 12 previous seasons at Altamont. “There is a lot of speed and quickness on this team – especially in the post – that will continue to help us get out in transition as much as we can. As long as we are under control we are at our best when we can create a “track meet” type of pace on the floor.” OUTLOOK – Coach Hill has built a fine basketball program at this school and - with the switch to the four-class system – you can look for these Indians to always be in the hunt for hardware come regional time. Those seniors mentioned earlier will be missed but the group coming back appears to be every bit as athletic. They will continue to run the floor and Suckow should get some attention as one of the top players in the conference and in the South. If those young players step up – look for Altamont to play well enough to put up another 20-win season. 5. NEOGA Each season head coach Jason Hanson gets more out of his teams than any coach in the South. Or so it appears. The Indians have won a pair of regional titles in the past four seasons since this coach arrived on the scene in 2005-06 and are 72-41 in that span. Neoga ousted Stew-Stras last season at the Cumberland Regional and then fell to Red Hill on the Salukis home floor in the sectional semifinal. They also shocked St. Anthony during the regular season. Coach Hanson has a few good men remaining from that regional title club that will build upon the 18-12 mark from last winter. Two players back that started last season are 6-foot senior guard Dalton Robinson and 6-foot-2 senior Bryn Price. Both played a lot of minutes in the backcourt last season. Robinson averaged 10.7 points a contest as a junior last season while Price added 7.5 p.p.g. They form yet another good NTC backcourt tandem. But then again with the size that Neoga has they appear to have everyone in the backcourt. The tallest player in the Tribe is Price. Seniors Zach Blair and Travis McClellan are in the six-foot range while senior Brett Snively and junior Travis Cornell are in the 5-foot-11 vicinity. Coach Hanson also mentioned a pair of sophomores that could help. Five-foot-nine Adam Probst and 5-foot-8 T.J. Roy will get reserve minutes most definitely in 2009-10. After Robinson and Price – the top scorer returning from this group is Blair at 1.5 p.p.g. Neoga did lose a good one to transfer as 6-foot-4 senior Cody Boarman moved to Shelbyville after scoring 12.1 p.p.g. as a junior for the Indians. “We will be very much guard oriented this year with no one over 6-2,” said Coach Hanson. “But we should be very good defensively.” OUTLOOK – They had better be good on defense because this team will have to really box out and go hard to the basket for rebounds this season. If not Neoga could see a drop in the standings. But underestimating this team isn’t a smart thing for anyone on their schedule to do in 2009-10. Neoga will be a factor in the National Trail. 7. DIETERICH There is an old adage that goes “be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.” The Movin’ Maroons got their wish – a membership into the National Trail Conference after leaving the Midland Trail two seasons ago. After a year of cruising around the Independent waters Dieterich has docked at the NTC port. Coach Jamie Vanscyoc has been very successful at this school since his arrival (168-61 in eight seasons), which includes the programs’ only regional title in 2007-08. The Maroons have two returning starters back from a 20-9 club that lost to Altamont at the St. Elmo 1A Regional. They won their own holiday tournament in beating Newton in the finale but six of those players from that team have moved on via graduation. Look for the two returning regulars to lead the new group into a new season against their new opposition. Blake Kuhl is a 6-foot senior guard who can run the offense and handle the basketball. Kuhl topped the Maroons last season with 12.3 points per night while handing out 3.5 assists. The other returning starter is Cody Hinterscher – also a 6-foot senior guard. Hinterscher added 10.6 p.p.g. as a junior while dishing out 2.4 a.p.g. Both of these seniors must have big seasons for Coach Vanscyoc if the Maroons are going to make any noise in the NTC. Up front is Tony Probst – a 6-foot-5 senior who is long and can play underneath the basket or on the perimeter. Probst tossed in 4.8 points a night off the bench in 2008-09. Coach Vanscyoc believes his defense will be just as important when Dieterich plays some of the better teams on the schedule. Six-foot-four senior Cory Niemerg is also a player that this coach has high hopes for this season as he steps up from the JV. Six-foot junior guard Sam Thoele could be a major key to the success on both ends of the floor. Taran Bohnhoff – a 5-foot-8 junior guard – sees the floor well and will be called upon to help handle the ball on the offensive end for Dieterich. Anther senior Jeremy Ohnesorge – a 6-foot-2 forward – should see some playing time along with 6-foot junior John Hall. Three sophomores – a 6-foot Derek Cox, 5-foot-9 Nathan Garbe and 6-foot-4 Adam Dahnke should all get “sweaty” on game nights. Those last seven kids didn’t put up many offensive numbers in varsity games last season so they are still unproven commodities heading into the 2009-10 season. “We will be starting our first season in the National Trail Conference and out schedule will be much tougher,” said Coach Vanscyoc – a South Central graduate and a college baseball standout at Kaskaskia and MacMurray College in his playing days. “Our goals for this year are to win both of the Holiday Tournaments that we play in and we want to be playing our best basketball at the end of the year and make another strong showing in the postseason.” OUTLOOK – The NTC will be a nice fit for this program but it might take a few seasons to get used to the surroundings. This sports program will find out in a hurry that the NTC is a whole different animal than the MTC. However this team looks pretty solid and this coach has worked wonders with this program. Perhaps no other team has enjoyed the switch to the two-class system more than Dieterich. Having never won a boy’s basketball regional – this club has won a regional and was runner-up to Altamont last season in those two years. That success in the postseason should be something that the Maroons shoot for every season from now on. 9. WINDSOR The Blue Devils might be the most improved team in the National Trail Conference even without the rumored transfer that had the coaches in the league buzzing. More on that story in a moment. But first Windsor head coach Bruce Austin has six key returning players that have size, some athletic prowess and a hunger to turn some won/loss numbers around in 2009-10. The fact that the six are all underclassmen should make things enjoyable for the next two winters at Windsor. Topping the list of scorers and producers returning for the Devils is 6-foot-1 junior point guard Kyle Floyd. This one averaged 12.3 p.p.g. as a sophomore to go with over three assists per contest. He has developed into a floor general and team leader for a club that hopes to improve on a 6-20 campaign from a year ago which ended with a 50-45 loss to Oblong at the Cumberland 1A Regional. A pair of power forwards should also help out once again with Torey Leasher – a 6-foot-4 junior – and 6-foot-4 junior Zach Weber. Both averaged six points and around six rebounds a game last year. Ryne Floyd – a 6-foot-3 junior guard/forward is a twin brother to Kyle and a productive player in his own right. This Floyd added three points a game for the Blue Devils last season. Add the name Sid Edwards to the lineup as this 6-foot-1 junior added a few varsity points and minutes last season while spending most of his evenings in JV games. So did Andy Cole – a 5-foot-11 sophomore guard. Both will be looked at as potential starters or top reserves. Cody Warner – a 6-foot senior – didn’t play last season but is going to play this year for Coach Austin and should provide some help. As for the transfer hype – 6-foot-10 sophomore Colin Ferguson was enrolled at Windsor but before basketball practice got started he and part of his family moved to Missouri. According to an inside source – AAU basketball contacts played a role in his departure to Desoto, MO. ABV wishes him well. “We return three starters from last year; Kyle Floyd was our leading scorer last year and Torey Leasher and Zach Weber both can control the boards night in and night out,” said Coach Austin – who is looking to improve on a 6-45 mark he has had at Windsor. “They will be looked upon to score more this year. Ryne Floyd was starting to contribute at the end of the year last year. Sid Edwards and Andy Cole also had big years in JV last year and we expect them to contribute on the varsity level this year. We will have a tall team this year but the question will be, “how well will we do in transition?” OUTLOOK – Look for some improvement this season from the Blue Devils program and a two-year run could produce some good results. Windsor will have to play really well every night with the sort of schedule that they will face early. Don’t expect any sort of miracle finish here but double-digit wins and some earned respect around the area would be very welcomed to a school that has struggled recently.